Council shuts nude cybercafe night under ‘decency law’

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City authorities have shut down a nude night at London's newest cybercafe, following complaints from neighbours. Nutopia last month opened its doors in Covent Garden with an evening of naked Web surfing, the first in a series of regular theme nights. The idea, which Nutopia representative Roz Arratoon says was dreamt up in the pub the night before, went down a storm with naturists in London. Punters paid £5 a pop to shed their clothes and inhibitions at the door and get down to some serious surfing. Last night, The Register decided to bare all and check out Nutopia's second nudist evening. But residents in the building above the cybercafe had got there before us. So unhappy were they to learn of nudity in their vicinity that they grassed on the Bohemian antics to Westminster Council, according to Arratoon. Nutopia owners were forced to abandon plans to repeat the nudist evening, after Council spoilsports last week issued a warning under a decency law. In fact, council officers were so disgusted with the theme night that they felt it necessary to visit the venue twice more -- once in the wee hours of the morning -- to check they'd got their facts straight. "The only way we could have done it would have been to make it private members only. But that would have defeated the point of this place," said Arratoon. The Council's action has not dented Nutopia's passion for alternative Net nights. With sponsorship from a certain vodka company, the cyberloungers plan to run a film night, as well as Absolut Muff and Absolut Queens evenings. Nutopia, which styles itself as a "cyberlounge" and aims to attract style-conscious clientele, takes its name from a John Lennon pamphlet. While angel fish laze around in aquariums, lighting is diffused through translucent walls to reflect off high gloss surfaces, creating the illusion of being submerged in a pool of tropical water. ® Related storiesNude surfers gather in London cyberloungeTesco to launch cybercafesCybercafe domain wars all a storm in a teacup